414 SUMMAKY OF CUEKKNT EESE ARCHES RELATING TO 



migratory birds." The various categories, resident, wandering, migra- 

 tory, winter fliers, etc., are necessary for an understanding of the 

 problem ; but it must be noted that these groups pass by transitions 

 into each other. The author admits that the young find their way 

 alone. 



Preen-gland of Birds,* — E. Trouessart maintains that in ducks, for 

 instance, the secretion of the preen-gland is of real use. It is possible 

 that the secretion is of use to the skin, in keeping it supple and in good 

 condition. It may also be of use in connection with the moulting of 

 the feathers. He confesses, however, that his views are hypothetical. 



Ostrich Feathers.t — J. E. Duerden discusses the causes of the defect 

 in ostrich feathers known as " barring." Barring seems to be consti- 

 tutional, and not a direct effect of low feeding. The presence of 

 parasites among the feathers is not a direct cause of barring, but any 

 factor causing a lowered condition of health conduces to the appear- 

 ance of the defect. Experimental inquiry is being directed towards 

 solving this complicated problem. The effects of in-breeding and of 

 "quilling" will also be investigated. 



A Python's Meals.J — W. Hartmann describes an astonishing sight 

 which he saw in Hagenbeck's zoological garden. A specimen of Python 

 reticulata, about 25 feet in length, swallowed on June 7, 1906, a swan 

 weighing 18 lb., and two days later a roebuck of (57 lb. Another 

 swallowed within two days two roebuck of 2S lb. and :■>'.) lb., and soon 

 thereafter a chamois of 71 lb. In 2^ hours only the hind-quarter and 

 the limbs of the prey were visible. When a flash-light photograph was 

 suddenly taken, the python disgorged its booty in the space of half a 

 minute. 



A. Sokolowsky § reports on the same subject. In a few days a weight 

 of S-l lb. was swallowed ; 138 lb. in nine days. The pharynx can 

 be dilated to a width of 1 m. -10-50 cm. A goat of ><4 lb. in weight 

 was engulfed, and took about nine days to digest. After a meal the 

 pythons remain inert in the water. The appetite for a second large 

 meal a few days after the first is remarkable. On the other hand, two 

 specimens remained from spring to November without eating at all, and 

 yet persisted in good condition. 



New Dinosaur.il — Arthur Smith Woodward describes Scleromochlus 

 taylori g. et sp. n., a new diminutive Dinosaurian reptUe discovered by 

 Wilham Taylor from the Trias of Lossiemouth, Elgin. As the dis- 

 coverer pointed out, an outstanding feature is the extreme lightness of 

 the whole skeleton and the peculiar mechanical adaptation of the hind 

 limbs, both of which suggest comparisons with a bird. Compared with 

 Marsh's American Triassic genera of Diuosaura, the new Elgin fossil is 

 remarkable for the relatively large size of the head, the apparently 

 toothless jaws, and the firm union of four long metatarsal bones in the 



* BuU. Soc. Zool. France, xxxi. (1906) pp. 140- 1. 



t Farm and Stock Year Book, 1907. 



% Zool, Anzeig., xxxi. (1907) pp. 270-2. 



§ Tom. cit., pp. 293-6 (1 fig.). 



II Quart, Journ. Geol. Soc, Ixiii. (1907) pp. 140-4 (1 pi. and 1 fig.). 



